Stand Out
Stand Out
My way wants me to conform to this world, to fit in, to be liked. God’s way wants me to be different, to stand out, to be like Him. I posted this quote on social media early this week and it generated a lot of talk about what it means to stand out. Our instruction to stand out has nothing to do with being noticed as popular, successful, beautiful, an overachiever, or perfect. Those things are what the world teaches us is important. God has instructed us to stand out by growing in our relationship with Jesus and becoming more and more like Him. It is Christ alive in us that sets us apart, therefore causing us to stand out.
As I have chatted with friends, we all agreed that to stand out is hard. It is so much easier to go along with the crowd and to fit in with everyone else. We want to be accepted and have everyone like us. People pleasing is easy, but to stand out and live a life that is pleasing to God is hard. Can I get a witness?
So, what are we to do? How do we push through and do the hard stuff? Where can we begin? We may think the answer is in controlling our mind and our thoughts. But seriously, we are not very good at that, are we? Instead, the best place to begin is surrendering control of our mind to the One who is ready to renew it. If we want to be obedient and stand out, we need a little daily surrender and a whole lot of renewal.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
This is a topic we could talk about for days and days and days. However, let’s take it in bite size pieces and look at something we can apply today.
Renewal
In the beginning of Romans 12, Paul tells us that based on God’s mercy, we are to present our body as a living sacrifice and become “holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” This means that we are to use our body to serve God and to obey God. Because we are crucified with Jesus, we are to walk in “newness of life”. (Romans 6:4) The word “holy” is intimidating and makes us believe that we can just skip that part in God’s word, however, God tells us to be holy because He is holy. (I Peter 1:16) Holy means set apart which is how we stand out. Acceptable means that we are pleasing to God which is how stand out. And doing our reasonable service, because being holy and acceptable is the only rational response to what He has done for us – is how we stand out.
“God, help us to get over ourselves and stop seeing everything through the filter of “what about me”. Renew my mind, Lord and help my filter become “because of what He has done for me” Even when it is hard, help me live my life for You. May my love for You and obedience to You cause me to stand out so that others will see You in me and want to know You more.”
Application:
- Choose obedience to Him over popularity.
- Focus on God’s truth, not people’s opinions.
- Get to know Him more, so we can be more like Him.
- Because His mercies are new every morning and even though it is hard, commit to stand out by being holy and acceptable in our thoughts and our behaviors.
We can do hard. Stand Out!
Note from Pam:Hi there! Thank you so much for reading my blog. It amazes me every single time someone does. I am so thankful for you and feel as though you are my partner in this journey of walking in obedience to God's calling. Many of you know my story and know that I believe He has called me to write. ("Why Am I Doing This") Well, you may not know that I am currently working with a publisher on my first book. It is exciting, yet humbling, overwhelming and outside of my comfort zone. I need your help. Would you help me further the message God has given me? Here is how you can be a part:
- Pray for me. Pray that I will manage my time and obligations well. Pray that it is God’s message that will prevail throughout every single page. Pray for those who need this book and that it will get into their hands.
- Like my Facebook Author Page - Pam Pegram - so you will stay up to date on all that is going on as we move forward. Click this link and be sure to check “Like”.
- Invite others to like the Pam Pegram page. My publisher has asked me to increase the number of followers on this page. You can go to the page and click “invite my friends”. It will allow you to choose the friends you would like to invite. Thank you in advance to everyone who does this. I may not know if you do it or not - but I appreciate you just considering it.
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Thank you so much! You are loved and appreciated!